An In-Group Becomes Part of the Self: Response Time Evidence

Author: Smith, E.R.; Henry, S.

Description: Social identity theory holds that social group memberships become part of the psychological self; affecting thoughts, feelings, and behavior. However, tests of this hypothesis to date have mainly involved judgmental dependent measures. A method adapted from Aron and associates can provide more direct evidence. Subjects made speeded self-descriptiveness judgments for a variety of traits. Responses were slower and involved more errors for traits on which the individual believed he or she mismatched an in-group, compared with matching traits. Matches or mismatches between the self and a salient out-group had no effect. This evidence suggests that cognitive representations of the self and an in-group are directly linked, to the point where reports about the self are facilitated for traits on which the self and in-group are perceived as similar, and inhibited for dissimilar traits.

Subject headings: Psychological; Judgmental measures

Publication year: 1996

Journal or book title: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Volume: 22

Issue: 6

Pages: 635-642

Find the full text : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167296226008

Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=7218232809204583322&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en

Type: Journal Article

Serial number: 670